A moment earlier, Ruby and Lily were anxiously watching the fight, with a mix of hope and fear as they saw Dean, Claire, and Bianca getting into trouble.
"Oh no, they might lose," Ruby said.
Lily, who couldn't speak, turned to Ruby and nodded, then looked back at the screen nervously. Suddenly, everything around them turned black and white, and the screen froze. Ruby was immediately scared, and Lily tried to grab her hand, but it went right through. "Plop," NS suddenly appeared in front of them.
"Hello, Ruby. Hello, Lily," NS greeted them.
Seeing NS's scary and mysterious look, Ruby and Lily—the ghost—were both terrified.
"Wh-who are you?" Ruby asked, stepping back.
"Ah, that's right. Even though Claire and Bianca explained it, you don't really know me yet. Let me introduce myself again. I'm NS, or the Nightmare System. Dean works for me to pay off his debt. Claire and Bianca are his soul partners. The rest is just what they told you," NS said, giving a wide grin.
"So-so you're the one called NS... Wh-what do you want? Claire and Bianca said they chose to work with Dean and not give up their souls," Ruby stammered, scared.
"Yes, that's right. And I'm going to offer the same deal to both of you," NS said with a smile, leaning on his cane.
"Huh... both of us? You mean her, too? And her name is Lily?" Ruby asked, pointing at Lily.
"That's right. I can bring Lily back to life, but first, I need your help," NS replied.
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.
"Before I answer, I'll tell you one thing and ask you a question. Your soul is worth $5,500,000. That means you're a special soul that I can't eat. You will work for me to pay off a debt equal to your soul's value, and you'll become Dean's soul partner. What do you say? Do you accept?" NS asked, looking at Ruby seriously.
"De-debt? Claire and Bianca didn't say anything about that," Ruby said, her face pale.
"Of course they didn't. So what do you say? Your debt will be added to theirs," NS said, pointing his cane at the frozen screen.
"They have debt too?" Ruby asked.
"Yes. There's no such thing as free revenge. What do you say? Do you accept?" NS pressed.
"I guess I don't have a choice since I used the app, right?" Ruby asked.
"No, I'm giving you a choice. The one who used the app was her," NS said, pointing at Lily.
Ruby was silent. She looked at Lily, who was standing next to her and staring at her. She seemed confused and deep in thought, but the excitement of being a part of the city's urban legend that had been going around for the past two years took over her sane thoughts. She looked at the frozen screen, then gave NS a determined look.
"Okay, I accept. Even though I'll have debt, I'm happy," Ruby said with confidence.
"Hohoho... I knew you'd say that," NS said.
NS raised his cane and pointed it at Ruby. "Huh," Ruby was startled. A beam of light shot from the tip of the cane, but it didn't hit Ruby. Instead, it hit Ruby's body behind her, and she realized she was currently in soul form. Ruby could see her body being formed, and she heard a sound in her head like a program installing.
"Wh-what's happening... what does 'half revenant' mean?" Ruby asked.
"I'm turning you into half-human, half-revenant—a being that comes back from death for revenge. They use a sixth sense and black magic to hunt their targets, which is a perfect fit for you since you have a sixth sense and love mysteries. After this, you'll be able to enter and exit my world, the world of nightmares," NS replied.
"Oh... I see," Ruby said.
Ruby watched her body form. Her normally pale skin became wrinkled and wood-like, though it remained white, except for her face, which stayed normal. "Cring!" Two chain-like whips wrapped around her arms, and a black cloak with a hood covered her body.
"As a registration gift, I'll raise your level to 10 so you can use your skills to create a body for Lily," NS said.
"Whoosh," a holographic screen appeared in front of Ruby's face. She adjusted her glasses to read it.
=====================================
Ruby Davis's Status:
Name: Ruby Davis
Age: 17
Race: Half Revenant
Level: 10 (0 / 250 EXP)
Power: 2,000
Active skills: Necromancy, soul drain.
Passive skills: Hyper regeneration, whip mastery
Weapon: Chain Whip of the Dead
Debt: $5,500,000
Soul partner: Dean Wilson.
Partnership skills: Telepathy, teleportation
Total Debt: $20,950,000 + $5,500,000 = $26,450,000
=====================================
"Whoa... wow... is this... my power?" Ruby asked.
"That's right. Now, get into your body and use necromancy to create a female zombie," NS replied.
"O-okay," Ruby said.
Ruby approached her body and entered it. She opened her red eyes and raised her hands. Purple light appeared from her palms, and the floor in front of her formed a purple vortex. A zombie girl with a disfigured face emerged from the vortex, but once she was out, she didn't move. NS touched the zombie's body with his cane, and a bright red light filled the room, making Ruby and Lily raise their arms to block the blinding glare.
Ruby peeked and saw that the zombie she just created with necromancy was slowly changing into a pretty girl Ruby's age. She had short, silver, boyish hair and looked very athletic. Then, her body changed again, so she looked like she had joints with hinges, a line going down her mouth, and a pair of gloves with three big claws on the back of her hands.
"Huh... why does she look like a puppet?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah, I'm making this body half-human, half-marionette. It's perfect for Lily," NS said as he continued his work.
Ruby looked over at Lily, who was holding her head with both hands, looking confused and staring down. Lily turned to look at Ruby, but her eyes were moving around as if something was happening in her head. A little while later, the red light began to fade.
"It's done," NS said, looking at Lily. "Go ahead and enter, Lily, now your name is Lily Palmer. As a registration gift, I'm giving you a level of 20 because of the urgent situation, and you'll be starting at the same school as Ruby tomorrow as a transfer student," NS said with a smile.
Lily looked happy, and she immediately floated into her new body. When she entered it, a bright yellow light appeared. Lily slowly opened her red eyes and landed on the floor, and the light disappeared, replaced by a puff of white smoke as she looked down. "Whoosh," a holographic screen appeared in front of her face.
=====================================
Lily Palmer's Status:
Name: Lily Palmer (Lily Marley)
Age: 17
Race: Half Marionette.
Level: 20 (0 / 11,250 EXP)
Power: 4,000
Active skills: Puppeteer string, cross prison, camouflage, soul drain.
Passive skills: Hyper regeneration, flexible body, claw martial art mastery
Weapon: Puppet Claw Gauntlet.
Debt: $12,000,000
Soul partner: Dean Wilson.
Partnership skills: Telepathy, teleportation
Total Debt: $26,450,000 + $12,000,000 = $38,450,000
=====================================
"Wow... she's... strong," Ruby said, reading Lily's screen.
"Hohoho... that's because of the tight spot they're in. You both need to go now," NS said.
Lily stood up and looked directly at Ruby, then gave her a sweet smile and held her hand with tears in her eyes.
"Wait, you can't talk?" Ruby asked.
Lily shook her head, and they both looked at NS, who was standing behind them.
"It will take some time for her to be able to talk. She hasn't spoken in a very long time and her body is still stiff. Be patient and keep teaching her. She's just as smart as you, and her knowledge is already at a high school level," NS said.
"Hmm, okay," Ruby replied, looking at Lily and holding her cheek.
"Okay, you two need to go. I'll take you right there," NS said.
"Tap," he knocked his cane, and Ruby and Lily, who were now ready for battle, vanished and then appeared on the screen.
*****
Back in the present, after the fight was over, Ruby explained everything to Dean, Claire, and Bianca.
"Okay... I don't want to see the status screen right now," Dean said, shook his head.
"Great, so we're all on the same page, right Ruby?" Claire asked.
"Yeah," Ruby replied.
"So what about her?" Bianca asked, pointing to Lily, who was still staring at Dean.
Before anyone could answer, Lily ran over to Dean and "hug," she hugged him from the front. "Huh? What?" Dean asked, surprised, seeing Lily's wide smile and those same pleading, round eyes as before when she's still a kid and a ghost. Suddenly, "kiss," Lily kissed him on the lips.
"Whaaaaaaa... what are you doing, Lily?!" Claire, Bianca, and Ruby all yelled at once, immediately pulling Lily away from Dean.